List of cities in China by population

China is the world's most populous country. According to Demographia, in 2017 there were 102 Chinese cities with over 1 million people in the "urban area", as defined by the group's methodology.^[1]

Definition and classification[]

According to the administrative divisions of China, there are three levels of cities, namely direct-administered municipalities (直辖市), prefecture-level cities (地级市), and county-level cities (县级市). The Special Administrative Regions (特别行政区) of Hong Kong and Macau and the free area of the Republic of China (Taiwan) are not included in this administrative classification.

Municipalities and prefecture-level cities are not each a "city" in the strictest sense of the term, but instead an administrative unit comprising, typically, both an urban core (a city in the strict sense) and surrounding rural or less-urbanized areas usually many times the size of the central, built-up core.^[2]

Prefecture-level cities nearly always contain multiple counties (县), county-level cities, and other such sub-divisions. To distinguish a prefecture-level city from its actual urban area (city in the strict sense), the term "市区" (shì qū; "urban area") is used. However, even this term often encompasses large suburban regions often greater than 3,000 square kilometres (1,000 sq mi), sometimes only the urban core whereas the agglomeration overtake the city limits. Thus, the "urban core" would be roughly comparable to the American term "city limit", the "shì qū", or "urban area", would be roughly comparable to "metropolitan area", and the municipality is a political designation defining regions under control of a municipal government, which has no comparable designation.^{[citation needed]}

List of major cities by population[]

The list contains all the cities with the administrative designation of "National Central City" (国家中心城市) and "Sub-Provincial City" (副省级城市) – including five "Municipalities with Independent Planning Status" (计划单列市) and ten large "Provincial Capital Cities" (省会城市), as well as some large "Special Economic Zones" (经济特区城市), "Open Coastal Cities" (沿海开放城市) and "Prefecture-Level Cities" (地级市).^[3]

Urban population[]

Legend: ^⍟ National Capital City ^# National Central City ^* Provincial Capital City ^~ Open Coastal City ^† Special Economic Zone

	Direct-Administered Municipality
	Municipality with Independent Planning Status
	Sub-Provincial City
	Prefecture-Level City

Top 50 of the Largest Cities in Mainland China by Population of Urban Area
Rank	City	Province	Latest Estimate^[4]	2010 Census^[5]
1	Shanghai^#^~	—	26,917,322	20,217,748
2	Beijing^⍟^#	—	20,381,745	16,704,306
3	Chongqing^#	—	15,773,658	6,263,790
4	Tianjin^#^~	—	13,552,359	9,583,277
5	Guangzhou^#^*^~	Guangdong	13,238,590	10,641,408
6	Shenzhen^†	Guangdong	12,313,714	10,358,381
7	Chengdu^#^*	Sichuan	9,104,865	7,791,692
8	Nanjing^*	Jiangsu	9,314,685	5,827,888
9	Wuhan^#^*	Hubei	8,346,205	7,541,527
10	Xi'an^#^*	Shaanxi	7,948,032	5,403,052
11	Hangzhou^*	Zhejiang	7,603,271	5,849,537
12	Dongguan	Guangdong	7,402,305	7,271,322
13	Foshan	Guangdong	7,313,711	6,771,895
14	Shenyang^*	Liaoning	7,191,333	5,718,232
15	Harbin^*	Heilongjiang	6,360,991	4,596,313
16	Qingdao^~	Shandong	5,597,028	4,556,077
17	Dalian^~	Liaoning	5,587,814	3,902,467
18	Jinan^*	Shandong	5,330,573	3,641,562
19	Zhengzhou^#^*	Henan	5,286,549	3,677,032
20	Changsha^*	Hunan	4,555,788	3,193,354
21	Kunming^*	Yunnan	4,422,686	3,385,363
22	Changchun^*	Jilin	4,408,154	3,411,209
23	Ürümqi^*	Xinjiang	4,335,017	2,853,398
24	Shantou^†	Guangdong	4,312,192	3,644,017
25	Hefei^*	Anhui	4,216,940	3,098,727
26	Shijiazhuang^*	Hebei	4,098,243	3,095,219
27	Ningbo^~	Zhejiang	4,087,523	2,583,073
28	Taiyuan^*	Shanxi	3,875,053	3,154,157
29	Nanning^*	Guangxi	3,837,978	2,660,833
30	Xiamen^†	Fujian	3,707,090	3,119,110
31	Fuzhou^*^~	Fujian	3,671,192	3,102,421
32	Wenzhou^~	Zhejiang	3,604,446	2,686,825
33	Changzhou	Jiangsu	3,601,079	2,257,376
34	Nanchang^*	Jiangxi	3,576,547	2,614,380
35	Tangshan	Hebei	3,399,231	2,128,191
36	Guiyang^*	Guizhou	3,299,724	2,520,061
37	Wuxi	Jiangsu	3,245,179	2,757,736
38	Lanzhou^*	Gansu	3,067,141	2,438,595
39	Zhongshan	Guangdong	2,909,633	2,740,994
40	Handan	Hebei	2,708,015	1,830,000
41	Weifang	Shandong	2,636,154	2,044,028
42	Huai'an	Jiangsu	2,632,788	2,494,013
43	Zibo	Shandong	2,631,647	2,261,717
44	Shaoxing	Zhejiang	2,521,964	1,725,726
45	Yantai^~	Shandong	2,511,053	1,797,861
46	Huizhou	Guangdong	2,509,243	1,807,858
47	Luoyang	Henan	2,372,571	1,584,463
48	Nantong^~	Jiangsu	2,261,382	1,612,385
49	Baotou	Inner Mongolia	2,181,077	1,900,373
50	Liuzhou	Guangxi	2,153,419	1,624,571

N.B.: The source did not include Suzhou on the list. With 4,242,500 residents,^{[citation needed]} Suzhou is the second largest city in Jiangsu Province, behind only Nanjing, the capital city. If included, Suzhou could be 25th on the list, just ahead of Hefei, the capital city of Anhui Province.

Locations of the 50 most populous cities in Mainland China[]

Shanghai

Beijing

Chongqing

Tianjin

Guangzhou

Shenzhen

Chengdu

Nanjing

Wuhan

Xi'an

Hangzhou

Dongguan

Foshan

Shenyang

Harbin

Qingdao

Dalian

Jinan

Zhengzhou

Changsha

Kunming

Changchun

Ürümqi

Shantou

Hefei

Shijiazhuang

Ningbo

Taiyuan

Nanning

Xiamen

Fuzhou

Wenzhou

Changzhou

Nanchang

Tangshan

Guiyang

Wuxi

Lanzhou

Zhongshan

Handan

Weifang

Huai'an

Zibo

Shaoxing

Yantai

Huizhou

Luoyang

Nantong

Baotou

Liuzhou

Top 50 most populous cities in Mainland China

References[]

^ "More than 100 Chinese cities now above 1 million people". Guardian. March 20, 2017.
^ Zhang, L.; Zhao, Simon X. B. (June 1998). "Re-examining China's "Urban" Concept and the Level of Urbanization". The China Quarterly. 154: 330–381. doi:10.1017/S030574100000206X.
^ "China: Provinces, Prefectures, Counties, Cities, Districts, Townships, Urban Areas - Population Statistics in Maps and Charts". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
^ "China Population (2020)". PopulationStat. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
^ "China: Provinces and Major Cities - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2019-06-18.

External links[]

[demographia-1] "More than 100 Chinese cities now above 1 million people". Guardian. March 20, 2017.

[2] Zhang, L.; Zhao, Simon X. B. (June 1998). "Re-examining China's "Urban" Concept and the Level of Urbanization". The China Quarterly. 154: 330–381. doi:10.1017/S030574100000206X.

[3] "China: Provinces, Prefectures, Counties, Cities, Districts, Townships, Urban Areas - Population Statistics in Maps and Charts". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2019-06-18.

[4] "China Population (2020)". PopulationStat. Retrieved 2020-02-28.

[5] "China: Provinces and Major Cities - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2019-06-18.

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v t Largest cities or municipalities in the People's Republic of China China Urban Construction Statistical Yearbook 2018 Urban Population and Urban Temporary Population
	Rank	Name	Province	Pop.	Rank	Name	Province	Pop.
Shanghai Beijing	1	Shanghai	SH	24,237,800	11	Nanjing	JS	6,572,000	Guangzhou Shenzhen
	2	Beijing	BJ	18,634,000	12	Hangzhou	ZJ	6,504,900
	3	Guangzhou	GD	13,154,200	13	Zhengzhou	HA	6,261,900
	4	Shenzhen	GD	13,026,600	14	Xi'an	SN	5,866,100
	5	Tianjin	TJ	12,968,100	15	Shenyang	LN	5,651,200
	6	Chongqing	CQ	11,488,000	16	Qingdao	SD	5,127,000
	7	Wuhan	HB	9,180,000	17	Harbin	HL	4,860,000
	8	Chengdu	SC	8,379,700	18	Changchun	JL	4,564,000
	9	Hong Kong	HK	7,448,900	19	Hefei	AH	4,292,400
	10	Dongguan	GD	6,850,300	20	Jinan	SD	4,154,900